After 1 month on 100mg Doxycycline

Really starting to clear up now, think the Doxy's doing its thing. As long as I can leave my skin alone and relax about it instead of picking and stressing about it, hopefully I might be able to maintain this.

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fantastic!! yay Paul u must be happy, looks totally clear ! this stuff you are on, is it a pill? is it similar to accutane or not as strong?i didnt want to go on accutane as doc warned me about serious symptoms like probs falling pregnant etc, but am keen to hear about different options.

and KEEP SMILING Its the right thing to do hehe so cool to see a smile

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Faithgirl - Yes, Doxycycline is an antibiotic. I've tried all the others that were available to me and I also did Doxy at a lower dosage in my teens. Each time I finished a course of something, the acne only came back stronger. But because it did actually respond to treatment, none of the doctors I spoke to would refer me for Accutane. I'd rather do that and just get it out of the way but it looks like that isn't going to happen.

Instead, the doctor said I should try this for six months, rest for three months, then go back on Doxy if the the acne comes back. I'd basically end up repeating that cycle until the acne finally stops coming back. I hope it does stop for good eventually, I've had it for far too long now.

I was also prescribed Isotretinoin gel (topical Accutane) and that's good at healing spots fast and doesn't burn me like all other topicals seem to.

My biggest problems now are popping spots and picking at them, and also my confidence and self esteem. I'm so insecure about it after all these years, even just a couple of pimples is enough to make me want to hide away.

Not too sure how to stop picking for good, but I can try. And I'm getting help with the confidence and stuff, starting group therapy sessions next week. Hoping I'll be able to get some help and practical advice on how to beat the insecurities so I can build my confidence, put myself out there and start creating a life for myself.

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I started taking a Beta Carotene supplement this week. Apparently that turns to Vitamin A in the body, which is essentially what Accutane is. So I'll stick with a safe dose of that and see how I go.

Also started taking a probiotic as I've never done that before and perhaps should have been after all these years of medication on and off.

Getting back into the supplements again as I saw good results on those near the start of the year (that's when my other gallery pictures were taken) so maybe those combined with the Doxy will be what I'm looking for. I hope so.

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I'm on Doxy too, but I'm so worried about the unnecessary use of antibiotics these days. Does it worry you that they're doing this interval/rest thing with you Paul? That sounds like just the sort of thing that could facilitate resistance development. I guess we've got to trust in the docs.

I really want to get on top of this, but this is pretty scary stuff; I don't want to contribute to the ineffectiveness of antibiotics against serious life-threatening diseases :/

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I'm certain, Katie. Thinking back, things cleared up great for me after the first month of Doxy. In fact, I saw results after just a few days. As I mentioned in the picture, I took it at a really clear point. Like all the pictures in my gallery, I've never posted any when I've been broken out. Well, there's one in a blog entry but that's all. I just didn't want them out there. I wasn't ashamed or anything, I just didn't want to see it. Kind of wish I had saved pictures over the thirteen year period I struggled because then I'd be able to see how far I've come.

I always kept things in perspective when categorising the condition of my skin - it was only ever moderate at worst - but unfortunately, I always blew things way out of proportion in terms of how I perceived others would view it, how I felt about it, and how I reacted to it. My reaction was the key thing because what I had was pretty much nothing more than pickers acne. Acne Excoriee. I hated how my skin looked and for thirteen years I took that hate out on the skin itself, picking everything in sight and popping pimples multiple times a day. That just prolonged things and that's why it lasted half my life.

Between learning about the damage I was doing by picking and learning what else was triggering my acne - primarily diet related - I was able to break that cycle of picking and also remove the inflammatory elements of my diet. I got to grips with that back in December and I've been clear ever since, as per my most recent pictures and blog entries.

The short answer would have been, 'yes', but I can understand how people would form an opinion based on what they see in the pictures and obviously there's not much at all in any of them save for the odd spot, so I think it's important to mention where I was years ago, how far I've come and where I'm at now. I hope it continues because where I'm at with my skin now is pretty much where I've wanted to be for thirteen years.

In that respect, the severity becomes irrelevant because it doesn't change the fact that we're all on a personal journey to reach that point where we're happy with what we see in the mirror,

Acne prevents people from facing the world and living fully. We're proud to provide the truth about acne, based on fully-referenced science, and we're also proud to recommend a regimen that allows people to become completely clear and completely themselves.